Jalan Alor - Tiny Urban Kitchen

This is the tenth post in the Malaysia and Singapore! series. Other posts in this series include Lot 10 Hutong - Kuala Lumpur's Most Famous Hawker Stalls Under One Roof, LaZat Malaysian Home Cooking, Otak, Otak Fish Dumplings in Banana Leaf, Little Penang Cafe + Visiting the Petronas Twin Towers, Roti Jala - Malaysian Lacy Pancake, and Nonya Malaysian Chicken Curry. Bijan, and Onde Onde.

A food series about Malaysia would be incomplete without mentioning Jalan Alor, the most famous food street in Kuala Lumpur. The street comes alive at night when many of Malaysia's most famous hawker stalls set up shop and sell all sorts of street food, from choose-your-own skewers and fragrant noodle dishes to exotic things like frog porridge and pungent fresh durian.It's very conveniently located, right next to Bukit Bintang, one of the busiest shopping areas in Kuala Lumpur.Unfortunately, I only visited for a short while, and didn't really have a chance to try any food because I was already too full from our exploration of Lot 10 Hutong (only a 5-minute walk away). Nevertheless here's what I thought about it, including some links to good resources you can use from others who have eaten there countless times.

The street looks like a pedestrian street, but it's not. This can get pretty annoying when cars try to squeeze their way through. The streets are jam packed, and cars are not afraid to get pretty close to the pedestrians. You can see there's very little space for the people to go when a car comes through. I often found myself squeezed right against someone's table or chair.

The food choices are endless, and the restaurants are popular with locals and tourists a like. There were A LOT of tourists. We saw tons of people taking photos of themselves at the street (us included!), and you could see all different types of people sitting at the tables.

Although I didn't personally eat there, my research turned up a few places that everyone says are "must visits".

1. Wong Ah Wah for its barbecued chicken wings or spicy chicken wings
Its popularity has caused it to grow from one stall to five all in a row!
Address 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 Jalan Alor

2. Meng Kee for its grilled fish or other grilled items, like grilled stuffed tofu.
Address: 39 Jalan Alor

3. Frog Porridge
If you dare, this place is hard to miss because there's a huge sign that basically says frog porridge. Bryan's pretty squeamish about frog so I'm guessing we would have never ordered it, but I've read it's pretty good.

3. Local fruit
If you dare, try durian! I personally grew to like durian after trying it in Thailand last year. We later learned that Malaysian durians are the most sought after ones in China because Malaysian durians are ripen on the trees, resulting in a richer (stinkier?) flavor.

Here are a few great resources about the area from those that have visited:

Hungry Go Where: Best Jalan Alor Food Part I
Hungry Go Where: Best Jalan Alor Food Part II

If I return to Kuala Lumpur, I will plan on visiting this area with an empty stomach and a stomach of adventure!

And I will try a fresh durian.